A survey of the machine interference problem

This paper surveys the research published on the machine interference problem, also called the machine repairman problem, in which machines interfere with each other’s service. Our emphasis is on work that has appeared since the 1985 review by Stecke and Aronson. After describing the basic model and the scope of our study, we discuss the literature along several dimensions. We describe some of the more interesting papers, and offer some suggestions for topics holding particular promise for future studies. We conclude with comments about how the research has evolved over the past two decades.